STWR - Share The World's Resources

Following the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), changes in US farm policy fuelled market concentration in agriculture. The real losers in this scenario are farmers and rural communities in Mexico and Canada, says a report by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

While the globalisation of agriculture results in cheaper food, it also contributes to environmental degradation, increased poverty amongst producers, and global hunger. Establishing the value of such an essential good should not be left to the market, argues Timothy A. Wise.

Continuing population and consumption growth mean that the global demand for food will increase for decades to come. The goal is no longer simply to maximize crop yields, but to balance production, environmental and social justice outcomes, say H. Charles J. Godfray et al.

Malawi is lauded as a success story of the “green revolution” agricultural model – a technique that relies on imported fertilisers and seeds. But the achievements will not be sustainable unless land is redistributed fairly and dependency on imports is addressed, says a report by GRAIN.

La Via Campesina is the leading transnational movement opposing the corporate domination of food production. How has such a movement arisen and how has the notion of food sovereignty forged a shared identity among its members? By Maria Elena Martinez-Torres and Peter M. Rosset.

The acquisition by foreign investors of farmland in poorer countries could fatally undermine sustainable food production. Governments should look to alternative strategies to feed their people – including a fledgling initiative to establish regional food reserves, argue Michael Kugelman and Sue Levenstein.

Dealing with the twin spectres of peak oil and climate change requires a radical rethink of our fossil-fuel intensive food system. Three fundamental principles should underpin any approach to food security: resilience, resolarisation and relocalisation, argues Jonathon Porritt.